This invention pertains to a tool useful in attaching a hydraulic cylinder and piston assembly in place on a farm implement and in attaching that assembly at both ends.
The use of hydraulic power, especially cylinder and piston assemblies using hydraulic pressure as a source of power is fairly common in farm implements and other earth-moving equipment. Usually referred to as hydraulic cylinders, the devices are very useful in raising the equipment above the ground for carrying and pressing the implement into the ground in order to work the ground.
As the basic machine--ordinarily a tractor--has gotten larger and larger, the need for larger cylinders has increased. In farm machinery, particularly, these cylinders are mounted or dismounted dependent on what particular type of implement is to be used on the tractor at any particular time. Thus, it is necessary on fairly frequent occasions to mount or demount the cylinder.
With larger equipment and thus heavier cylinders, the problems of carrying and holding the cylinder in place for mounting have increased. This is true both for the attachment of the cylinder itself to the tractor and also for the attachment of the operating rod of the piston to the implement. In fact, the problem is enlarged because of the need for adjustment of the piston within the cylinder so that the length of the assembly corresponds to the space between attachment points. The assembly is not in place until both ends are fastened, and frequently, the second end is more difficult to fasten than the first because the piston must be extended to the proper position longitudinally as well as being adjusted laterally which means vertically in many instances.
By my invention I provide a handle that is readily attached or detached, which will make handling the cylinder much easier and which, includes adjustable means adapted to gauge and to hold the cylinder as the piston is moved to the correct longitudinal position for attachment of that end. I also provide a gauge means for determining the proper position of the piston end for the insertion of a fastening pin.